 | Leaves of grass (1872) |  |
5
7
When late I sang, sad was my voice;Sad were the shows around me, with deafening noises of hatred, and smoke of conflict;
In the midst of the armies, the Heroes, I stood,
Or pass'd with slow step through the wounded and dying.
8
But now I sing not War,Nor the measur'd march of soldiers, nor the tents of camps,
Nor the regiments hastily coming up, deploying in line of battle.
9
No more the dead and wounded;No more the sad, unnatural shows of War.
10
Ask'd room those flush'd immortal ranks? the first forth-stepping armies?Ask room, alas, the ghastly ranks—the armies dread that follow'd.
| Leaves of grass (1872) | |